


Picture Perfect

by ZolphDiggler



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24791737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZolphDiggler/pseuds/ZolphDiggler
Summary: Ryuji can't find the words to describe what he feels when he sees Ann adorning magazines and billboards. Like, he really, REALLY can't.
Relationships: Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	Picture Perfect

“Oooh check out this cutie! How about it Ryuji? She your type?”

The sudden question from his girlfriend was enough to draw Ryuji's attention away from the assorted items he was gazing over, bringing him back into the sparsely populated underground mall Ann regularly frequented, which now of course meant he regularly frequented. His head as far in the clouds as it just was, the now third year student wasn't quite far gone enough to miss what he'd define as a blatant trick question.

“Huh? What girl? I didn't see any girl. Anyway I doubt it.” dismissed the bottle blonde without even looking round, quick to applaud his own quick thinking. The rather sharp jab to the ribs Ann administered in response quickly put an end to that though.

“Hey! For your sake she damn well better be! Pay attention I worked hard for this!”

It was safe to say that he'd made a slight error somewhere. Reeling around he quickly discovered precisely what that was when he saw the magazine Ann was holding up to him, her own image adorning the cover and sporting a significantly brighter look than the blatantly displeased real life version before him was making. Damn. With a sheepish apology he took the magazine from her hands and began looking it over. Objectively it was just as stunning a sight as could be expected of a model of Ann's caliber. Heeled boots and tight jeans that accentuated her long legs, alongside a printed tee that would suit his own tastes had it not been cut off to showcase her navel, and chequered jacket that only further threatened to convince him that the colour red had been invented solely to make Ann look even more mesmerising than she already was. When combined with her natural beauty and recently found passion for the job, the image before him was unmistakably a hit.

So why the hell wasn't he feeling it?

Placing blame on this photo in particular wasn't an option, because this wasn't a feeling Ryuji was at all unfamiliar with. It had always been there in some regard at least as far as he could remember, but over the past nearly two years or so that had seen their relationship progress from former friends, to best friends and comrades and finally, blissfully, amazingly to lovers, the feeling that something was inherently off whenever he viewed the results of Ann's modelling work had grown into a more and more prominent intruder of Ryuji's thoughts. His face scrunched into a puzzled scowl he tried not for the first time to figure out precisely what could possibly incite such a bizarre reaction from looking at the person he considered the most beautiful person on the planet, when a hurdle in the the form of a soft disheartened sigh halted his progress.

“There's that look again. What is it? No good or...?” Ann asked, the uncertainty in her voice laid bare. At least Ryuji knew what to call the feeling had that had replaced the nameless one just prior, that being panic.

“No good? What are you talking about you look amazing like always.” It wasn't a lie not even close, but for all the good it did to alleviate the mood he had unwittingly put his girlfriend in it may as well have been.

“Am I Ryuji? Do you actually think so? Because when it comes to my modelling you've always had a funny way of showing it.” If he'd had the time to dwell on it he may have found the humour in him landing perhaps the world's most perceptive ditz, but it was biting him in the ass too hard to focus on that at the moment.

“Look c'mon I'm serious of course you're gorgeous. I mean shit you managed make wearing a good nine or ten sweaters at once look gorgeous. It's straight up impossible for you look anything but.”

“Then what's with that face then?” she snapped back, the genuine tone of his reply only confusing her further, “Do you just not like me modelling or something? You know I'm planning on making a full career of it right? I won't stop, not even for you.”

Ryuji scratched the back of his head as he gave it a brief moment of thought before disregarding it. “Nah, nah that ain't it either.” He couldn't deny that seeing Ann hanging off the arm of some male model did annoy him somewhat, nor that seeing random dudes pointing her out in magazines or on billboards and voicing their not always particularly respectful opinions sparked his temper a little, but he wasn't that insecure. Ann's blunt nature did a great job at letting him know it was his opinion on her that actually mattered, and his arm she wished to holding on to, even if moments like now made him question why exactly. Besides, even if he did there's no way he'd let his pettiness get in the way of her own goals. “Even when I used to buy all your magazines back then something just didn't feel right about it, y'know?”

“No.” she stated flatly “No I don't know. I can't even guess, so...just what is it? I promise I won't get mad just talk to me alright?” The hurt present on her face made Ryuji's guts feel as if they'd just taken the full force of a nine iron.

“I'm sorry, I am but I really don't know!” It was so damn frustrating. Ryuji had always considered the combination of their forward, emotional attitudes and comfortableness approaching any topic no matter what arguments it may start to be one of the main reasons their relationship worked as well it did, but what good did that do when you didn't know what the damn problem you needed to hash out was? “If I knew I'd tell you and you know I wou-” Ryuji stopped his own incoming tirade as in his mindless flipping on the pages he game across another photo of her, this time a close up. What he felt wasn't any different from what he had from the cover image, but from this angle he had a fairly good idea about what he found off about it. “Yo, where's your little black spot thingy?”

“My...black spot thingy? Ryuji what the hell are you talking about?”

“Ugh, the little mark just under your right ear. Where is it?” The so called blemish was small and faint, difficult to notice unless you were particularly close. However the sheer amount of times his lips had lightly pressed against it, or teeth had not quite so lightly clenched around it made its existence crystal clear in Ryuji's memory. The photo gracing the page lacked any such evidence of such a mark though.

“Oh right that.” Ann responded covering the mark with a brush of her hand. Why she'd be self conscious about it was beyond him. It was cute as all hell. “They probably just airbrushed it out in post.”

“Huh?” Ryuji exclaimed bewildered. “Why the hell would they do that?”

“This is a professional magazine you know? Gotta have everyone looking as perfect as possible.” Ryuji found himself frowning at her answer as he flipped back to the front page with a new focus, his now more discerning eyes almost immediately picking up on something else he'd overlooked.

“Did they tone down your abs too?”

“Well that one is technically your fault isn't it? Don't get me wrong I love working out with you and I'm in way better shape than ever, but people want us to be ladylike too y'know? Pretty sure they had me in long sleeves so they didn't have to bother doctoring my biceps.”

“For real?” Ryuji said with a scoff. If Ann's curvaceous and recently toned up body wasn't “ladylike” he had no idea what was. He was on to something now though. As he flipped back and forth through the pictures there was other things to jumped out at him too. The slight imperfections in her beautiful blue eyes he thought rivaled the sky were nowhere to be seen. The golden sheen of her hair he considered a match for the sun was off by just a shade or two. To anyone that didn't know her these may have came across as improvements, but to Ryuji that wasn't remotely the case. “You're effin perfect as is. That they're even trying to make you look any better is a damn joke.”

“T-that's what the problem is?” Ann questioned, fighting back the blush of receiving such reverence. “You don't like them being edited? That can't be all it is though. I mean, Kanamin, Risette, Takeba, all their stuff gets shopped too and it's verrrrry clear it doesn't bother you there.” He'd usually point out how adorable the subtle pout that betrayed her slight possessiveness was, but right now wasn't the time.

“That's totally different! I ain't got a clue what their so called flaws are and I don't really care to know. I'm talking about you and how much I love all the shit they got rid of.” Ryuji said idlely kicked at the ground. He could feel his face heating up slightly, but not enough to stop him saying what he felt he needed to. “But now you mention it, you're right. It ain't just the shit the took out and changed. It's all the stuff they can't put in neither.”

“The stuff they can't put in?” Ann probed, just a little ashamed of how much she was enjoying the praise and just how much she wanted to hear more. “Like, what stuff?”

“Like that right there! The way you swing your arms side to side like that whenever you're spacing out or curious” he pointed out, mimicking her actions as best he could. “Y'know little things. The way you talk and how you throw in all that random ass English, the way ain't afraid to get all close and touchy feely in front of people, the way you used to carry yourself back in the Metaverse all fierce as fire, hell little stuff like the way your nostrils flare whenever you get all pissed.”

“Excuse me?! The way what now?” Ann shouted back with a stomp of her foot.

“Yep! See just like that! It's all shit they just can't get in a picture. I get how to the average dude this is as good as it gets, but me?” He said handing her back the magazine. “After getting to experience everything that makes you amazing rather than just y'know, smokin hot? I guess stuff like this just doesn't do it for me any more.” His assessment concluded Ryuji was happy to see Ann's face light up at his words. Good job too. He was worried he'd been just a little too open for a second there.

“Well then...” Ann spoke up, no longer able to contain the rosy red tinge (yep, red was definitely made just for her) that crept across her cheeks. “I suppose if that's the case I can let you off the hook. Maybe”

“Hey, they capture that part of you perfectly at least.”

“Hmm? What part?”

“That smile of yours.” he admitted frankly, a massive grin on his own face. “Gets me every time. No contest.”

“I just have to think of you and presto.” Ann draped her arms over his shoulders, just as brazenly as he had pointed out she was want to do. “Thanks for making my job a little easier Ryuji.” 

“C'mon, quit trying to embarrass me here huh? Stop the mushy stuff.” He managed to hold her gaze, but it was his turn to blush.

“Seriously?” She giggled, her nose crinkling just slightly, yet one more thing he loved. “You come out with all that and you're getting on me for being mushy?” After concluding their embrace and making their way towards the exit to the station both her arms wrapped around his right one, a titbit of their exchange he was hoping had been lost in the fray resurfaced.

“By the way, you said you used to buy the magazines I was in right? Why? You're a lot of things Ryuji, but fashionable..?”

“The hell's that supposed to mean? And what's it to you anyway?” He knew the moment he failed to keep eye contact with her he knew he was totally dead in the water.

“Oh Ryuji...you didn't?”

“Didn't what? C-c'mon we're having a moment here right? Let's just drop-”

“Yep, you did didn't you? You're so vulgar sometimes...” The smirk on her face and chuckle in her throat ruined the serious tone she was clearly attempting to convey, but the subject alone was suffice to rattle him.

“Oh just lay off alright! You got any idea what that damn catsuit would do to me back then? Besides what does it matter? I already told you they didn't work anyway so I'd just have to make do with my imaginat-Ah you know what eff this!” His attempt his storm off hindered by the vice grip of the now openly cackling woman on his arm, Ryuji quickly gave up and decided to direct his thoughts towards a new mystery. Just how Ann could make being faux-mocked in the middle of a shopping mall make him feel like the luckiest man in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> The more serious piece I've got in mind is taking more time than I'd like to get done, but it's also something I believe should be given the time it needs to be approached correctly and done right, so here's some lighter stuff to keep the ever glorious RyuAnn fires burning until then. Feedback and critique is more than welcomed.


End file.
